


Of Bees, Demons and Evil Honey

by TurboFerret



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Angry bees, Beekeeping, Bees, Bees are important pollinators, Crystals now make nectar, Demons, Jazz will die for his bees, Other, apiculture, au yeah august, bee hive vandalism, honey trade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:35:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25659070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurboFerret/pseuds/TurboFerret
Summary: I try posting for AU august
Relationships: Jazz/Prowl
Comments: 32
Kudos: 61





	1. Of Bees and Demons

**Author's Note:**

> Searece and I had been dabbling around this idea and this got born

Jazz woke up bright and early, it was not yet light outside but that was fine. He’d abandoned his life in Iacon for the countryside where fewer distractions, more fresh air and less pollution meant more time he could spend on his work and as a result he picked up a new hobby.

Humming a tune for his next production, he ventured outside his little cottage and took in the view. The nightly glow of the crystalline forest was dimming at the first signs of the dawn. It was a beautiful sight but his main point of interest lay in the five boxes that stood in his backyard. From a distance he could hear the subdued buzzing. Even though there were no signs of his little flying companions, his heat sensors indicated that the hives were busy preparing for the day.

Crystalline bees were a thing, not everyone had a knack to work with them but those who did had a boon of producing one of the most delightful treats on Cybertron.

The crystalline honey was a sought-after delicacy for it’s sweet, highly refined taste. Mecha added it to energon, used it in beauty products and even consumed it raw. The bees had done most of the processing of the nutritious crystalline sap converting it to a substance similar in properties as energon.

Yup, Jazz had gone from a city dandy to a humble beekeeper and quite liked it that way. Until he started noticing something strange happening to his hives. Like this morning, one of the hive boxes was laying on the side and open.

Frowning, Jazz approached it. Yes, same thing as few nights before, the box had been broken open, the poor sleepy bees scuttling about, probably as confused as Jazz about the entire situation. Venting in frustration, he delicately put the hive box back together. He had to be mindful not to squish any of the already disturbed occupants for fear of being stung.

By the time the sun was up Jazz had managed salvaging the disrupted beehive and his other bees were already up and about, foraging whatever crystals they could find in the backyard but mostly just heading straight for the crystalline forest.

One crisis averted but this wasn't the first and likely not the last attack on his precious bees. He had to find out what was happening.

First he had suspected the competition. The honey production was strictly regulated, from the production quantities to the prices. Where Jazz could not compete quantity-wise he competed with quality. Not all beekeepers had a crystalline forest to provide them with all the beautiful flavors of the wild crystals growing there. That caused some friction at the fairs where Jazz’ booth was more popular than that of most other mecha in the honey business.

There was only one other beekeeper in the area that Jazz knew of. Bumblebee came from a family known for their beekeeping traditions and would not resort to harming bees to get his point across. Moreover he was doing quite well himself so Jazz saw no motive for him to sabotage Jazz’s production.

This left wild animals and just random mechs who disliked Jazz or bees for an unknown reason.

Either way, he’d find out tonight. Decision made, Jazz went to start the preparations for a trap and a covert observation spot. Jazz’s plan was to hide in his yard for the night and hopefully catch the criminal red handed. Or honey-handed, as the case might be.

Happy with the decision, he went back into his cottage to make some breakfast before he’d start the preparations for the night. A cube of warmed energon with a spoon of fresh honey was just the ticket to having a productive day. After the first few sips, he blinked and looked into his cube with a curious smile. This honey was very pleasant and also very seasonally specific. Whatever it was made of, it was blooming in the crystalline forest right now and it tasted gorgeous.

Delighted, Jazz finished his cube and went for the preparations.

By the night fall Jazz had constructed a reasonably inconspicuous hiding spot that consisted from a few crates, a blanket and a few potted crystals to make it look like a garden shelf. Content with his handiwork, he grabbed a broomstick that he intended to use as a weapon if necessary and bunkered down to lay in wait.

It was a calm evening all over. The bees had returned from their escapades and now were busy storing the resources collected during the day. The crystal forest was beginning to glow again and the early riser Jazz started feeling sleepy.

He retracted his visor to rub at his optics when a movement in the darkness caught his attention. Hastily he put his visor back on and gasped. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t asleep and dreaming.

A black swarm of particles landed in his yard, coalescing into a being of some sort. In the darkness Jazz could tell it had a shape of a mech and it’s plating consisted primarily of panels of lighter and darker color.

The being looked around and in his hideout Jazz grabbed the handle of the broom nervously for assurance. His spark beating against his chest. He almost squeaked when the being looked over it’s shoulder towards Jazz’s hiding spot. If it had noticed him, it made no indications of it.

Instead, it went for one of his hives and tore it’s lid off nonchalantly. Plunging one hand inside and ripping one of the frames out - honeycomb and all. Fresh honey splattered to the ground together with clumps of sleepy, disoriented but angry bees.

-”HEY!” Reverberated across the plain and the crystal forest with a tell-tale ringing echo of someone who stood too close to a microphone when they spoke. Jazz was not performing now, he did not care. He stood up from his hiding place, brandishing the broom -”LEAVE THE FRAME AND ACK!”

I The being ripped out a piece of honeycomb and threw the empty frame at Jazz.

-”Why you…!” Jazz dropped his loudspeaking act and launched the broom at the mech pretty much the same way one would throw a spear.

Unnervingly, the mech dissolved into many tiny bits and the broomstick sailed right through without making contact. Jazz gulped, at this moment fear was starting to flicker at the edge of his senses. The particles did not dissolve into thin air, they circled around Jazz languidly and consciously like a swarm of black, menacing bees. Jazz tried very hard to shy away from ever touching them.

The particle swarm completed a few more leisurely circles around the frightened polyhexian before it took its leave. Jazz was sure that it was done in mockery and vengefully tried to follow the swarm as much as possible as it ascended into the air and flew off into the crystal forest.

Alone in his yard with yet another ruined hive, Jazz finally succumbed to fear and started shaking. Primus, he didn’t believe in demons but that was no ordinary mech. He send a commm message to Bumblebee, he needed answers.


	2. Of Herbalists and Orchards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jazz is out to make new friends. :D

-“So you actually saw it?”

They sat in Bumblebee’s cozy little kitchen space. The mech was not big on home decor and mostly used his home space to store more beekeeping items like scrapers for opening honeycomb, spatula-like tools for cracking open the hive lids, empty honeycomb frames and various bits and bobs that were related to beekeeping in one way or another.

-“Thought ah was dreamin’ first. Got scared after it was ova.” Jazz vented and shook his helm.

Bumblebee snickered to himself and poured them both some spiced energon. -“Sorry just a mental image of you smacking the demon with the broom, priceless.”

-“A shame none of that connected.”

-“Maybe not.” Bee added thoughtfully.

Jazz contemplated on his cup of energon. -“Ya right. It could’ve hurt mah bees, it coulda hurt meh.” And who knows if it would have, too if that broom connected.

-“It does dislike your bees quite some.”

-“Tha’s th’ problem. ‘s not sustainable ta have the hives bashed every few nights. The queens are already stressed as is.”

Bee nodded in agreement. 

-“Ya had bees for longer than ah. Ya know something about that?”

-“Never happened to me, but one of my grand creators was more into the supernatural and he said that bees actually protect you from all kinds of shady crawlers.”

Jazz hummed. -“Maybe that’s why it don’t like them.”

-“There is a mech living in the crystal forest, a hermit that specializes in folk

Medicine and herbology. Maybe he might know more.”

-“Crystal forest is rather large. How would ah find him?”

-“Just follow the path into the forest. At the big obsidian crystal and right before it you turn left and go straight.”

-“How’s ya know that?”

-“I get the powders for bee pests at his place.”

Huh, the more one knew…

-”Speaking of bees, you told me you had noticed some swarm cells.”

-”Yea, expectin’ them new queens ta swarm soon. Ah’m nervous, never had a swarm befo.”

The yellow mech nodded thoughtfully, looked around his space and stood up, retrieving what Jazz identified to be a small hive box. He placed the container on the table before Jazz.

-”I think this will fit the new swarm well.”

-”Ya’re not serious, ye’r just givin’ this ta me?”

Bee nodded. -”I need to free up some space and I prefer catching the swarms in the bucket anyway.”

The gift apparently was just in time because when Jazz returned to his hives, he saw a tell-tale activity in one of the boxes. Bees bustling about and around the entrance to one of the hives.

Jazz took the small hive box out and set to work. The moment the young queen bee was out, half of the hive would follow. It was going to be a wild chase.

Later that day, tired but exhilarated about his new hive addition Jazz set out to the crystal forest. The new bees buzzed busily in his subspaced swarm box. He did not feel secure enough leaving the box just sitting in the yard unattended. So his next best idea was bringing the swarm with him. They did not take up much space and the hive box was tapped, no loose bees in his subspace today.

Following the path, he looked for prospective spots to leave his hives in the future, to make the bee’s job easier. Those thin film wings did not regenerate, after all, the smaller the distance they had to fly, the less bee loss for the hive.

The path was pretty and Jazz had taken many strolls in the forest but never had tried locating something specific. Now he was on the lookout for a large hulking obsidian that was further into the forest than he had anticipated.

It was well past midday when he finally found the crystal. Now he had to turn left, or was it right? Jazz cursed to himself but looked around for more visual queues. The area to the left looked wildly overgrown whilst to the right he could spot traces of someone walking on the crystalline ground.

Thus reassured, Jazz turned left and soon came upon a cenced cottage. It was neat, if smallish and overgrown with foreign-looking crystals. No wonder this mech did folk remedies. All that grew in the orchard looked so odd.

Small jar of his freshest honey in hand, came to the door and knocked, waiting politely. Bee had cautioned him that the mech was tacitun and suspicious. Jazz thought Honey to be a fitting icebreaker. Being nice to neighbors was a bonus anyway. 

-”Hello?”

The voice came from behind one of the adjacent tool sheds. Jazz turned to look and tried hard not to stare. The mech was striking and not at all the herbalist kind he had imagined. Beautifully vibrant paint, gorgeous doorwings, glossy red chevron. Not a speck of soil or dirt stuck to the plating. Jazz would have expected this mech to have just visited the finest detailing shop in Iacon and not just come from a day spent out and about in an orchard.

-“Oh, hi mech, Ah heard ya lived ‘ere.”

The newcomer visually measured him up before giving a reply. -“Very few know where I live.”

Ok, so here were the mech’s quirks, Jazz could work with that. He tried his most charming smile. -“Yea, a friend told meh ya were good with herbs. Ya weren’t easy ta find.” 

The mech just watched him. Jazz got a strong sensation that he was trespassing and not welcome. To dissipate the tension he tried again.

-“A pretty orchard ya got, sorry ah invited mahself in like that. Thing is ah need help an’.” He took the jar of honey and extended it towards the mech as a hasty peace offering. -“Would ya hear meh out?”

The black and white mech studied the jar, then looked Jazz straight in the visor like he had finally gathered his bearings. -“Your offering is very generous. Pray tell what caused you to seek me out?”

Visibly relaxing, Jazz smiled again, smiles were free and for a taciturn hermit This mech was half bad.

-“Ah need advice on bees.”

A brief expression of surprise passed over the other’s features before settling on neutral once more. -“Most peculiar, but please, I believe such matters would much better be discussed inside.” The mech gestured towards the cottage.

It looked ominous in a way that Jazz could not pinpoint but he had long learned to go with his gut feeling.

-“Ah really like yer orchard. Would ya mind if we walked and discussed things there? Is getting late and ah wanna be sure it’s still light enough for meh ta get back home. If ya don’t mind.”

The herbalist inclined his door wings and gave a small smile for the first time. Jazz still clutched the jar of honey in his hands as the other has not relieved him of it yet.

-“Maybe before we start ya could take this off meh? It’s fer ya after all. Otherwise ah might forget.”

The mech studied the jar again, reluctant to take it. -“I am afraid I have not received such a….gift in a long while.” He paused, considering.-“Would you mind setting it on the window sill? I fear I might drop it in my excitement.”

Jazz obliged and assured his host it was no problem. This was the most subtle show of excitement he’d ever seen.

The mech took the lead to guide Jazz to the orchard. As they approached it Jazz smelled that particular sweet smell he’d detected in his own honey batches as of late. He was immediately enthralled by one of the fantastic structures.

-“I would not touch them if I were you.” The words snapped Jazz out of his trance and he just realized he’d extended his hand towards the glistening purple whorls of a crystal overhanging the path. -“Where are mah manners, pardon Ah didn’t mean it.”

-“I know.” The other remarked knowingly. -“It’s not entirely your fault. Now, you had questions about bees?”

-“Yea, ah have hives on th’ edge of the forest. An’ something vandalizes them and breaks the hives and tears out the honeycomb. It’s truly distressing an’ mah bees are sufferin’.”

The herbalist bobbed his helm and made a noncommittal sound.

-“So last night ah sat out at night and caught the culprit. Well, not quite caught, here’s the thing. Ah tried shooing it away with a broom. But it dissolved in thin air, like an apparition. Like a swarm of black particles and left in the direction of the forest.”

-“How uncouth.” The other remarked. -“And what brings you to me?”

-“Ah heard that ya might know more about this thing.”

The mech hummed for a bit. -“That is an unusual request.”

-“Yea, ah know it’s a bit odd but if ya know nothing about it that’s ok.” Jazz looked towards the sky and noted that the sun was on it’s way to set. -“Oh, look it’s gettin’ late. Ah will have ta leave fer today but if ye ain’t too bothered by company, maybe ah can pass by another day?”

The other mech looked up tracing the path of the sun with more involvement than he had displayed during their entire conversation. -“Or you could stay the night. The paths are treacherous now and who knows what you may encounter in the dusky forest.”

Jazz smiled nervously. -“That’s mighty generous offer ya. But ah’d hate ta intrude an’ the path was quite straightforward. Don’ worry about meh.”

He started towards the entryway of the orchard and his current host easily kept pace with him.

Since when was being accompanied to the exit supposed to feel like pursuit? Jazz stopped at the entry gate to bid farewell again and the herbalist stopped, too, cocking his helm, his frame darkened by a long evening shadow cast by one of the crystals. Jazz noticed that the mech’s optics actually started glowing in the fading light, an ominous red.

-“Speaking of the paths. Tell me, beekeeper, how was it that you got here?”

Jazz jogged his memory… forest path, go straight, obsidian, _left,_ Primus he should have gone Left but he’d gone right. 

-“A herbalist wouldn’t damage the undergrowth enough to leave an obvious path.” The other mech smiled sinisterly.

-“Ah’m guessing ah came to a wrong place. Ha, ha. Ya got meh, who woulda thought th’ forest is full a hermits.” Jazz really just wanted to bolt but turning his back to this mech was dangerous. -“Was nice meeting ya but ah’ll take mah leave. Ya can keep the hon…”

-”Oh but I insist that you stay. The night is quite young.” The mech in front of him started disintegrating into the black particles, edges starting to flake off his frame like chips of rust. Jazz had seen this happen the night before. He inched back before turning his back on the orchard altogether and starting to run. 

The dusky forest was an enchanted place but to Jazz now it was cursed. The black particles followed him, carrying there but not really echoes of laughter. 

Looking left and right Jazz searched for the path he’d followed to get to the orchard, or maybe spot the black obsidian. Any beacon of familiarity would do. 

In distance he glanced a large black mass, that must be the Obsidian!

He sprinted forward only to stop short in his tracks. In the dusk he saw a fence, a cottage and behind it, the large copse of foreign-looking crystals. 

This could not be… he’d gone full circle and returned to that cursed orchard. 


	3. Of Familiars and Evil Honey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jazz is in for a world of discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this chapter kept getting longer the more I wanted to finish it.

He was pretty sure he'd been running back straight but somehow his path had warped and he was back. It was becoming painfully clear to Jazz that not only his pursuer but this entire area was the domain of the supernatural. He was hesitant to call anything a demonic but this came very close to what he would imagine demonic was. 

What to do? Jazz glanced at his chest armor, he was still carrying the new bee swarm with him. Oh no, if something happened to him the bees would be locked in his subspace.

That could not happen, at least someone had to get out of this alive. He opened his subspace and gasped. A cloud of bees came out flying the moment his plating parted. All that running must have jostled the bee container and cracked it open.

Poor bees… on the other hand, they were crafty little critters. He really hoped they didn’t take up the initiative to expand their hive into his sub space. He was not sure how to scrape honeycomb out of there.

Gingerly, Jazz reached into his subspace to retrieve the swarm box, now with busy bees crawling all over it, claiming the new grounds.

He prayed to all twelve that the new queen wasn't hurt. Carefully he shone a mild light from his headlights into the box, crooning softly as he gently raked his fingers through the cluster of the bustling bees in search of the queen. Ah, there she was. Jostled and no doubt angry, but otherwise well, the queen bee was busy inspecting her new real estate, hopefully laying eggs already. The good sign was a retinue of worker bees following her and venting their film wings to cool her down.

Jazz carefully closed the box, making sure nobody was squished in the process. Ok, now to hide them in a safe place where his pursuer would not find them. Jazz switched off his headlights and was in for another surprise. In the low light of the evening the bees were starting to glow a beautiful, warm, golden yellow. Like fireflies they darted about him and in and out of the swarm box.

None of his other hives did that...

He took a good look at the swarm box and indeed, it glowed like a lantern, illuminated from within by it’s shiny inhabitants. Maybe the strange area affected them as well? 

There was no time to inspect them further as his pursuer caught up with him. The tell-tale black particles sailed towards Jazz and then stopped, unable to proceed, blocked by what looked to be a wall of glowing yellow hexagons that appeared in mid air every time they tried approaching.

He watched in awe as bees regrouped into a formation closer to him, angry buzzing increasing in volume.

The black particles twirled into a denser cloud until they coalesced into a form of the mech again. Once in his material form, the other experimentally reached one hand towards Jazz. Yellow hexagons lit up in the air and he promptly retrieved his hand as if burnt.

-”Curious.”

Jazz gulped and immediately set the swarm box down, lest he drop the box and hurt the young hive. The mech could not come any closer but Jazz was not sure if he could move outside the protective circle of bees. Effectively he was stuck, so why not try to get some common ground? -”So ah get ya wanted somethin from me?”

-”Your bees steal vital resources from me.”

Jazz grimaced, skeptical about the outrageous statement, thieving bees was a new even for him. -”They’re Just bees. An’ if what ya sayin’ is true, ya could ‘ave just told meh instead of smashing' mah hives.”

-”I don’t usually have to be quite as eloquent. Most just take a hint.” There was a mocking edge to the mech’s voice as if it was some failing on Jazz’s part to understand the cryptic message. 

-”Well maybe ya would wanna try a different tactic ta get yer point across fer a change.”

-”You…” That was the most derogatory ‘You’ Jazz had ever heard. “...do not have a capacity to understand what this is about.” 

-”Are ya callin’ meh dumb? Cuz maybe ye’re just bad at explainin’.” Demons? Frag demons, nobody insulted Jazz on their first meeting, maybe the fifth, but most definitely not the second.

The mech narrowed his optics at him. -”Bringing a familiar to another’s territory while trespassing would count high on the dumb aspect.”

Now Jazz plain out laughed. -”Mech what’cha on about?”

-”Case in point.” The mech was smug as if he’d won their little verbal sparring match. Jazz assumed the mech probably did not get out very often.

-”Ok so now ye gonna be all high an’ mighty just ‘cause ah don’ got the context?”

The mech just huffed and crossed his arms over his bumper, looking petulant, likely because Jazz was still mouthing off even when cornered. -”What do you think is creating this barrier?” 

-”Mah bees, ah presume?”

The mech looked insulted by Jazz’s lack of appropriate reaction. -”They Are your familiar.”

-”Why?”

-”They chose you.” 

-”Why are ya tellin’ meh this?” 

This is when Jazz got worried. The mech looked smug, whatever he was about to say next would be bad for Jazz, or his bees. -”Want to bet on how long your bees can keep up this barrier?” 

Worriedly, Jazz looked at the mech as he extended his hand and pushed against the barrier again. The wall of hexagons ignited once more, but this time, one of the hexagons flickered but failed to ignite properly. The bee that had been maintaining it fell to the ground, dead. Another flew in to patch up the hole in the defence.

There was a limited number of bees with him and he could not expect every one of them to sacrifice themselves for this. -”Mech, can we just mitigate the damages to ya? Bees didn’t mean anything, they just collect what they find useful.”

-”Mitigate How? I can watch you suffer as I exhaust your familiar and then devour your spark. Can you top that?”

Now why does this mech have to be like this? A few more hexagons failed, a few more bees fell. -”How ‘bout th’ pleasure mah charmin’ company?” Jazz chanced, -”An’ sum honey?” 

-”You’re pathetic.”

-”Fine, if ah’m ta die here, can ya at least tell me what is it that mah bees took?”

For a moment Jazz thought the mech would say nothing but in the end he spoke. -”The crystals I cultivate in my orchard are from my world. They secrete dew that I need. Your bees collect it leaving me with nothing.”

So there was a somewhat justifiable reason for why the mech was upset, but... -”Does that mean mah bees have been makin' evil honey all this along?”

The question hung between them, no more bees fell, the demon looked like it had been presented with a new aspect it had not considered before.

Without a word it dissolved into particles and disappeared, but before Jazz got any ideas of escaping it swirled back into existence, carrying the jar of honey Jazz had brought as a present. The contents of it now glowing a phosphorescent green in the dark. Jazz gulped heavily, was this the same honey he added to his energon every morning?

The demon examined the jar and then opened it, swirling the contents around with one, wickedly long claw. Making Jazz wince, nobody should treat honey like this. -”And you make this?”

-”Mah bees make it but ah extract it and sell it.”

A frisson of anger or disgust coursed though the mechs’ plating -”Do you realize the implications of this?” 

Jazz didn’t but he got a feeling that he was about to find out regardless. Still he shrugged. -“No clue.”

The demon vented and stepped back. Gesturing in the direction of the angrily buzzing yellow hexagons. -“You can call them back, for now I still need your spark inside your chassis. We have matters to discuss.”

Uh, so the mech would probably, likely not off him? For now... Jazz tried stepping forward but faced the same obstacle as the demon on the other side. The bees buzzed and Jazz bonked into a wall of golden yellow hexagons, recoiling from the sudden impact. -“Uh, how do I turn them off?”

The demon pursed his lips, amusedly watching Jazz’s struggle with his own familiar. -“They are your familiars not mine.”

Why did the mech have to be so stuck up? -”Yea but outta the two of us, you know what a familiar is.” 

-”For a moment there I thought you were pretending but you Are a novice in this.” The demon walked around Jazz, testing the perimeter the bees allowed, angry yellow crystals igniting in the demon’s wake.. -”Not overly sophisticated but it needn’t be to do the job.” He commented to himself, completing the circuit. -”Then again possibly the lack of more complex patterns just indicates the absence of familiarity.”

Jazz had a suspicion that the comments were made with express purpose to goad and ridicule him but it did not stick. Maybe if he actually had experience with familiars it would have. So he just shrugged. -”Ok and how do I get out of this simple pattern?”

-”For a familiar such as yours… it probably reacts to your state. If you are alarmed, it will manifest and protect you the only way it can. It should stop the moment you stop feeling scared.”

-”There is no way I’m calming down with you around.” 

-”Take your time, You will want to seek me out when they let you free. I trust you know where to find me.” And with that the mech just plain vanished, no twirly black bits, just gone in a blink of an optic.

Seek Him out? Like. Slag.

Jazz focused on his venting, as he willed himself to calm down. Soon the bees returned to their hive, experimentally, Jazz extended his hand in front of him, trying to trigger the bareer but nothing happened. 

Good, the bees had assumed he was safe.

Next Jazz commed Bumblebee, asking to stay the night. The mech was amenable if not a little sleepy and surprized about the late call. 

Jazz did not risk putting the hive in his subspace this time but instead took it in his hands. He put his high beams on and ran home as fast as it was safe for his bees. The charm of the area had dissipated once the demon, entity, whatever that mech was had left. Even in the darkness he could find the way. 

Jazz’s last minute escape plan:

_ Get the rest of the hives, _

_ Take some of his more immediate belongings _

_ Go to Bee _

With this plan already formed, Jazz finally stumbled into his home, locking the door after him and turning all the lights on. 

He set his hive box on the counter and rested against the adjacent wall to catch his breath. He had not anticipated that his legs would wobble and give out, making him slide down onto the floor. 

-”It took you a while.”

Jazz shrieked, and scrambled, crab-like, to the opposite side of the kitchen when he saw the same demon coming out of his living room. This time casually carrying a stack of Jazz’s datapads in his hand. 

-”How did ya get here?”

-”You didn’t expect me to forget where you live, did you? The door was locked so I used the window.” The mech nodded his helm at the broken glass pane no mech could have possibly crawled through.

-”What do ya want?” Jazz’s spark was turning to ice.

-”I did not actually expect you to come to me so I took the liberty of rearranging your business while you were returning home.” He frowned as he looked at one of the datapads he was carrying. -”Your records are awfully messy.” Those were Important datapads Jazz did not just leave around.

-”Arranging mah...Ya broke into mah safe?!”

-”Of course, that’s where you keep your business documentation.”

-”Wu - what even are you?!” Jazz pulled himself up against the counter to add a bit of heigth to his argument, he did not know if he was more frightened or pissed off at the breach of privacy.

-”That, dear…” The mech looked at the datapad AGAIN. -”Ah, here it is, That, dear Jazz, is something most scholars are still debating about.”

-”Gimme that!” Jazz swiped the pad from the mech’s hand, then promptly remembered that he should be scared, wobbled a bit and sat down on his kitchen bench.

The mech just stared at him. He did not even have to tell Jazz not to run, he’d effectively proven it was pointless. Winded from the entire exchange, Jazz cast an accusatory glance at his supposed beehive-familiar, not a peep from them now, huh?

He needed something to center himself so he stood up, careful not to turn his back to the other, to heat some energon. His hands shook so badly he could not even add the energon crystals properly without spilling them all over the counter. Giving up on the task entirely, he just set both his hands on the counter for support and vented.

He heard a rustle behind him that for sure did not sound like bees. -”Ah need a moment!” Jazz called out when a cup of warmed energon was prodded in his line of vision.

-”Don’t take too long, I will need you to explain some of those sidenotes and few other matters.” 

Jazz turned to look at the mech before he marched off to do whatever he meant to do with Jazz’s tax papers -”Do these matters involve ya not harming me or mah bees?”

The mech actually smiled in that shrewd, sweet way Jazz had to make a double-take on it. -”That depends on you.”    
  



End file.
